A Topic Sentence Worksheet Pack to Strengthen Paragraph Writing 

Understanding how to craft a clear topic sentence is an essential part of learning to write effective paragraphs. Topic sentences set the tone and direction for the paragraph, helping readers understand the main idea straight away.

This topic sentence worksheet pack has been designed by our team to teach your students how to identify, write and support a strong topic sentence. This resource includes five carefully designed worksheets that build students’ confidence with this important writing skill. Across the set, students will:

• Identify topic sentences in a paragraph.
• Write topic sentences using prompts.
• Identify supporting details in a paragraph.
• Improve on weak topic sentences.
• Build paragraphs using topic sentences and supporting details.

This topic sentence worksheet pack downloads as a printable PDF or editable Google Slides document.

Whether you’re introducing paragraph writing for the first time or looking to revise the concept with more experienced writers, these worksheets will help your students write cohesive paragraphs with confidence.

Tips for Using These Topic Sentence Worksheets

New to teaching topic sentences? No worries! Here are some practical tips for introducing topic sentences to your students:

1. Teach “Main Idea” as a Concept –  Before jumping into topic sentences, make sure students understand the concept of the “main idea.” Once they can name the main idea of a text, it’s easier to teach how to turn this into a sentence!
2. Identify Topic Sentences in Texts – Once students understand “main idea,” focus on identifying topic sentences in texts. Nonfiction texts with separate paragraphs that each focus on a different aspect of a topic make a great choice for this task.
3. Celebrate Simplicity – Ensure that your students understand that the beauty of topic sentences lies in their simplicity. Topic sentences don’t have to be fancy or long – a short, clear sentence is often best!
4. Write Shared Sentences – Write topic sentences together as a class. Start with a group brainstorm of possible main ideas, then write a few different topic sentence options. Discuss which one works best and why.
5. Support Independent Practice – Provide students with opportunities to write their own topic sentences about familiar topics, e.g. foods, animals, school subjects. Students could then use their topic sentences to guide a paragraph about that topic.

Download These Topic Sentences Worksheets

Getting your hands on this valuable resource is easy! Just use the Download button above to access either the printable PDF or the editable Google Slides version of this topic sentence worksheet pack. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template on your personal drive before accessing it.)

As this worksheet pack contains answers, we recommend that you print one copy of the entire resource, then remove the pages you need before making further photocopies.

This resource was created by Lauren Borst, a teacher in Indiana and Teach Starter collaborator.

Resources to Complement These Worksheets on Topic Sentences

Teach Starter has more great resources to save you time when teaching writing techniques to your class. Click below for some more curriculum-aligned, teacher-created activities!

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Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences Poster Pack

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